Review The Food - Fort Myers Restaurant Dining Guide

The Elephant Bar is a great restaurant for couples and families alike. Fitting the bill for both trendy and casual, the atmosphere is upbeat and the staff is welcoming. Upon entering, you can smell the wonderful aromas wafting from the open kitchen. The decor is embellished with many elephant remderings and a nice selection of art deco with a hint of Asian flair. There is a moderately sized bar area which delivers a very trendy feel. The leopard print carpet was very Vegas.

We tried several appetizers, including the Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls which were deliscious dipped in the macadamia-tamarind dipping sauce. The sauce was so good, I ordered a side of it to go with my meal. Next up was the potato skins which were for the most part, flavorless and boring. The cheese and other toppings were only found across the center of somewhat elongated potato skins. Although a familiar staple in the appetizer world, it's probably best to pass on them this time around. We also tried the Tempura Salmon Roll which had a fantastic crisp to the outer layer. Touch on a little of the wasabi and a dip in the soy sauce and excite your palate for the rest of the meal that is still yet to come.

We tried several entrees including the Shrimp Adventure Platter which had tons of shrimp. There were butterflied shrimp, skewered shrimp, and coconut shrimp.....All of which were perfectly prepared and well seasoned. I suggest ordering a side of the macadamia-tamarind sauce to dip some of the shrimp in. They should really include it with the dish, as it goes nicely with the shrimp.

The next dish that we tried was the Crispy Teriaki Chicken. Although the dish had nice flavor, I was a bit disappointed that the chicken was not actually crispy as the name had suggested. the accompanying rice seemed a bit undercooked and dry. I am still entertaining the fact that the rice may have been prepared in the microwave. All in all, not a terrible dish, but probably not something I would order again. Even if for no other reason than that the Crispy Chicken wasn't crispy.

Moving on to the next dish.... The Fresh Fish with Roasted Macadamia Nut Beurre Blanc Sauce. This was a tasty dish. The sauce, while being a bit thicker than expected, was very flavorful. This is a dish that I would order again. Compared to some of the other dishes which offer a bit of spice and flair, this dish was more subtle and laid back. The vegetables seemed a bit undercooked, and were a bit on the cold side. Quite possibly the dish sat in the window too long. Overall it was a tasty dish that I would surely recommend.

The last entree that we tried was chosen off of the kid's menu. It was the Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry. The chicken was nicely cooked. Very moist and tender. The flavors were very good, and the portion was quite generous for a kid's menu item. This was definitely one of the healthier choices on the kid's menu, and probably the tastiest one as well.

For dessert we tried the Giant Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. This dessert was big enough to share amongst several people. While I personally thought that the cookie could have been a bit softer, it was a fun finish to a decently satisfying meal.

As far as the staff is concerned, one waitress that we eoncountered was a bit rude. When we made a comment that the salad we ordered was missing pretty much all of the ingredients that were mentioned in the menu, she proceeded to tell us that the salad didn't really come with those toppings, and that we would have to pay extra for them. This didn't sound right so I grabbed a menu and showed her that it was in fact supposed to have the missing ingredients. Her reply was a somewhat raspy "Well, that's not a salad that I would eat, so I don't know what's in it." as she walked away. Personally I don't care if my server is a vegetarian working at a steakhouse. They should know what's on the menu. No excuses. They also shouldn't make off-tone comments when corrected by a customer. The last thing you want to to is leave a bad taste in your customer's mouth before the food even arrives.

Aside from the incident with the server mentioned above, the rest of the staff seemed to be cheerful and upbeat. I would have to say that the crown jewel of the entire establishment is the manager, Alexandria. She showed a level of pride and curteousness that far exceeded my expectations of any restaurant management. Aside from the routine managerial duties, she made every effort to interact with the guests to make sure that everything was perfect. She is an integral ingredient in what will be the driving success of The Elephant Room.

Favorite Appetizer:
Our favorite would have to be the Tempura Salmon Roll. It was just perfect in every sense. It looked great. It tasted great. It was a perfect starter that went over well with everyone at our table.

Favorite Dessert:
Our favorite appetizer was the Giant Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich. Simply put, it was a fun and festive way to top off the meal.